Wreckfest status update

Dear Wreckers, it’s been a while since our last update, and while we’re still working on the next one we thought it would be a perfect time to look at the current status of the game and give you guys some idea on what we have in store for you. As you have no doubt noticed the development speed has picked up considerably this year and we’ve now reached the point at which we will start addressing features that are still missing or otherwise lacking in quality. In other words, it’s time to put in all the stuff that will make Wreckfest a complete game!

TRACKS

We already have a pretty nice amount of tracks in the game, and with a couple of new ones in the pipeline the next major step is to bring what we already have to final level of polish. Mostly this means adding proper starting and pitting areas, crowds, a wider variety of props and other racing related set dressings, in other words all those details that will make the tracks seem like authentic racing environments. We’ve also been getting some feedback that the tracks are currently somewhat dull and don’t offer nearly enough opportunities for crashes. We hear you, and we’re going to add more props to enable that kind of gameplay, we just have to be super careful since we don’t want the environments look like you’d be racing in a fantasy world. Oh and by the way, we’re also looking to improve the visual quality of the environments even further and to that end we’ve already done some test with using photogrammetry-sourced assets. Boy, do they look great!

CARS

Yes, new cars! Everyone loves new cars, and we’re going to deliver. In addition to completely new cars we’re also expanding the vehicle pool by adding race-ready folk-racing versions of the existing cars that will look more rugged, offer better performance and generally just be badass. The new versions are not replacing the old ones; instead the idea is that the player will start with a cheap version of the car and obtain gradually better ones during the single-player career. We’re also working to improve the visual details of the cars such as rust decals to make them look realistic. Speaking of cars, handling is also something that we’re constantly evaluating but before making any drastic changes we need to be sure they are for the good of the game and something the majority of you folks would like. This is also something that you can help us by giving us feedback!

CAREER

We just mentioned career, didn’t we? A proper career is something that many of you have been looking forward to, and it’s not really surprising to us since for many players a proper career that will see you starting from the bottom and working your way up is the meat of the game. This considered we’re happy to let you know that we’re indeed working on one, and it will mostly follow the traditional format where you play through variety of cups, earning money and experience and gaining access to gradually higher level events and better cars. Our goal is to make the career a meaningful experience without too much micro-management that will hamper the core gameplay, meaning that we will be also reconsidering some of the features that are already implemented such as part repairing and crew management. If something doesn’t make sense to us or fit the bill it will be cut or reworked, so now is a perfect time to voice your opinion – what do you like and what not? What would you like to see?

USER INTERFACE

You’re probably already used to the temporary user interface that we’ve had right from the beginning, right? It’s something we put together very quickly and it has served its purpose but we’re actually now working on replacing it. The new one will be more modern, streamlined, and offer considerably better usability. We’re looking forward to share some screenshots of the actual interface with you soon but to give you some idea of the new style here’s a HUD concept (not final, mind you):

That pretty much covers it for now. We know that many of you would like to ask about a specific feature and yes, nothing is final yet and we will keep on improving all aspects of the game based on the feedback we receive. As you can see there’s still work to be done but most of the legwork is now done so it’s more or less a question of actually improving what we have and putting in what will eventually make Wreckfest a proper game. We’re humbled by the fact that you’ve been sticking with us for this ride and we’re very grateful for your on-going support. We’re sure you’ll love it when you will be able to finally see the game taking its final shape in front of your eyes! Most of us are on holiday right now, but we’ll back in full force within a couple of weeks!